Playdom and its 15 development studios will become part of the Disney Interactive Media Group, where Disney executives said that the Playdom game empire would be combined with other brands such as ESPN and Marvel.

"We are at the start of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way people of all ages play games with their friends across devices, platforms and geographical boundaries," said Playdom chief executive ffficer John Pleasants, in a statement. "Disney is an incredibly forward-thinking company that shares our vision and is the ideal partner to further our mission to bring great entertainment to people around the world."

Disney has engaged with Facebook since June, when it sold tickets to Toy Story 3 via the site. Later that month, Disney unveiled its first iPad app, also for the movie. But it was in early July when Disney bought Tapulous, the creator of the popular "Tap Tap Revenge" app, which signaled Disney's renewed interest in the gaming space.

Mark Hachman Mark joined ExtremeTech in 2001 as the news editor, after rival CMP/United Media decided at the time that online news did not make sense in the new millennium.
Mark stumbled into his career after discovering that writing the great American novel did not pay a monthly salary, and that his other possible career choice, physics, required a degree of mathematical prowess that he sorely lacked.
Mark talked his way into a freelance assignment at CMP’s Electronic Buyers’ News, in 1995, where he wrote the...
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